The Portland daily press., 1887-06-14
THE CANADIAN PACIFIC LINE.
Hundreds Of Men In the Woods of
Northern Maine.
The Great Work the Canadians are
Doing in our State.
All Rail Line From the Pacific to
Portland by Winter.
Especial to the Press.l

| Especial to the Press1
| GREENvILLE, June 13.-This is a yery
busy summer in the woods of Northern
Maine, probably the busiest since the crea-
tion From the western boundary line of
the State, straight across the Mattawamkeag
near the eastern boundary, by Moosehead
Lake, by countless mountains and streams
that have been visited heretofore only by the
hunter or the lumberman, narrow way is
being cleared through the woods. The sound
Of the axe is heard in summer as well as
winter; the bear and the deer are startled
from their haunts by the unaccustomed roar
ings OF blasting powder and dynamite. The
people in the towns along the border have
been amazed at the droves of horses and
mules, the loads of provisions and the hordes
of strange men that have been and are con-
stantly moving northward and disappearing
IN the woods. Tents have sprung up along
Moosehead Lake and in the deepest woods.
Short sturdy men with tin pals and green
cotton umbrellas, carrying long knives and
casting bold glances from tawny Italian
faces, tall white haired Swedes mumbling an
uncouth jargon, adventurers of uncertain
nationality, dicked up in the streets of great
cities, have gone in wit Nova Scotians and
latorers from Western Canada. Many ma
tiyes Of the State of Maine, axemen from
Piscataquis and Penobscot counties and
other men from all parts of the State have
Joined the throng in search of work. With
them are the contractors, mostly Canadians,
men who have been making money on Cana
dian Poetic contracts from the plains of the
Northwest to the woods of Maine. Over all
are the Canadian Pacific engineers, most of
them bright young men from Upper Canada,
some of them relatives of the Canadian
statesmen who have given such unwavering
support to the great undertaking of the Mac
donald government
1t can hardly be said that the work has
begun in earnest yet. Operations are going
on along the whole line, but full crews of
laborers have not yet arrived BY the middle
of summer there win be four or five thou
sand men on the line, Then there will be
some business in Northern Maine Although
the line through Maine is called the Inter-
national formerly the Megantic) as organ
lied under the laws of Maine, it has really
passed under the control of the Canadian
Pacific Railway. 1t is the engineering staff
of the Canadian Pacific that is doing the
work; the whole organization is Canadian
Pacific. Last fall about dozen or twenty
miles of the road were completed into Maine
from the West. The northern peak of
Franklin county was crossed, and
Holeb Pond, in Somerset county.
rQorba6 From Ho1oh IN Fot&
wamkeag, 120 miles through northern
Maine wilderness, is now under construction
A. l.. Hogg of Montreal, is chief engineer
and he has under him four divisional engi-
neers. There is the Moose River Division,
with headquarters at Moose river. James
A. Patison is in charge as divisional engi-
neer The end of the Canadian Pacific track
at Holeb Pond is the base of supplies. The
men, horses and supplies come in from Can
ada, and the people of Northern Franklin
and Somerset counties see little of the oper.
ations, which are carried ON far to the north
of the Rangeley regions. Going east the
next division to the Moose River Division is
the Greenyille Division Greenville, at the
foot of Moosehead Lake, is the headquarters
and base of supplies for this region. The
Greenville Division is about 81 miles in
length, stretching each way from the Lake,
and is under the charge of Divisional Engi-
neer S. b. Mckee. The supplies, men and
horses all come in by way of Bangor,
and the people of this region see
the magnitude of the work. at
Greenville, also, Chief Engineer Hogg
has his headquarters. East of the Green
vile Division is the Brownville Division,
under the charge of Divisional Engineer
Matthew Nelson. Brownyille is the base of
supplies and operations. The fourth and
last division is the Mattawamkeag Diyis-
ion under charge of Alexander Middleton
The manager of construction, who is over all
the work, Is James Ross of Montreal. The
surveys cf course have all been made; the
work of the engineering force at present is
principally to see that the work of the con-
tractors is properly done. The whole 100
miles was divided into ten contracts, and LET
out to Canadian contractors, men who have
been taking work of the Canadian
Pacific from the Rocky Mountains through.
The first two contracts, beginning at the
western end of the construction at Holeb
Pond, were taken by Luke Madigan; they
cover twenty-four miles. The third contract
of IS miles is done by STAIRS, Askwith & Co.
The fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh, about 50
miles, and located around Greenville, was
taken by Mckenzie, Mann & Co. Angus
Sinclair has the eighth and ninth contracts,
with his headquarters at Lincoln. The tenth
contract, In the vicinity of Mattawamkeag,
is let to James A. Gordon g. Son. These
contractors have In turn sub-let parts of the
work. so that the word has been divided into
short sections in many places.
The engineering difficulties of the work
are considerable. In the first place the con-
ditons under which the Canadian Govern
ment gives its large subsidy per mile requires
easy curves and grades, Then there are sew
eral large bridges and trestles to be built.
The Kennebec river, at the point where it
leaves the lake, will be crossed by three
span iron bridge The Bongor & Piscataquis
road at Greenville will be crossed overhead,
necesstating considerable trestle work.
Then, east of the lake, in the vicinity of
Wilson Pond Stream and Ship Pond, there
will be trestles one hundred and thirty feet
high. On the borders of Moosehead Lake,
there is one cut through the solid rock fifty
feet deep. Between Greenville and Brown
vile, the hardest part of the line by far,
there will be several deep cuts. At Malta
wamkeag there will be bridge across the
Penobscot river.
The limit of tlme.on all the contracts Is
such that on the part from Holeb Pond to
Greenyille, and from Brownville to Malta
wamkeag track laying can begin by Septem-
Der, an trains can run by November, probab-
ly. That part from Greenville to Brownville
is very difficult of construction, and cannot
be finished before next spring.
But when the track reaches Greenville, at
the foot of the Lake, the Canadian Pacific
can afford to wait year. For by way of the
Piscataauis railroad it can reach Bangor
and Portland,-it can in other words reach
winter port, and begin its great transconti-
| mental traffic.